Tag Archives: Knights Templar

Does he look worried about not being on Forbes list of the richest men?

Consequently, Guzman’s inclusion in the Forbes list, which suggested a degree of influence over crime in Mexico that a careful analysis did not support, largely contradicted the prevailing trend inside the nation. This will likely be increasingly true going forward, as group’s like Guzman’s Sinaloa Cartel collectively continue to cede market share to a growing number of smaller regional gangs, like the Knights Templar (Caballeros Templarios) or the Independent Cartel of Acapulco.

Furthermore, the revenue structure for Mexican criminal groups have tilted away from the high-margin traffic of cocaine (the activity with the greatest potential to spawn a highly wealthy boss) to lower-margin, labor-intensive practices like kidnapping and extortion, theft and human smuggling.
While Guzman’s inclusion appeared to be aimed at publicity more than it was the result of methodological rigor, the impact of his being placed alongside names like Gates and Slim changed the perceptions of public security in Mexico. Guzman turned into the foremost emblem of Mexican crime, and his wealth and manifest impunity –Guzman escaped from prison in 2001 — was a sign for some that Mexico had little chance of defending itself against such a threat.
This was true despite the lack of evidence to support the estimate of Guzman’s fortune. His partner Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada called the calculation “nonsense” in 2010. More damningly, in 2009, Forbes editor Luisa Kroll offered only unconvincing ramblings as a justification: “There are people that make it their job to be tracking this money trail and we have a Spanish-speaking reporter who spent a lot of time in Mexico and has a lot of sources whether in the Drug Enforcement Agency and separate consultancies that helped him track and get a handle and find the right people to talk to, to track the drug money but because it is such a huge problem, there are definitely a lot of people that are tracking the money that’s flowing through the drugs.”

Nonetheless, for the US media, a billionaire capo became a conveniently sensationalist and simplistic symbol for a hugely complicated situation. The Washington Post, to take but one of many examples, casually referred to Guzman as a “billionaire cartel boss” in 2010.
By way of addressing the exclusion, Forbes explained that, “[Guzman] has to spend more of his money on security and bribes to protect his family, meaning his annual take of the world’s massive cocaine trade … is getting thinner and thinner.”

Such logic is, of course, every bit as unsupported and faulty as were the initial calculations of his worth. Forbes does not back up its assertion with any figure more concrete than an offhand references to “our numbers.” Moreover, even if his profit margins are getting thinner, unless Forbes is actually retracting its prior claims about his accumulated wealth, it should not matter: as long as the margins are positive, he’s still adding to that fortune that was previously calculated at an even $1 billion.
In short, the only logically coherent way for Forbes to pull Guzman from the list would be to explicitly renounce its prior methodology and issue a correction. Unfortunately, the magazine was unwilling to go that far. Nonetheless, insofar as it represents the opening of a more nuanced view of Mexico in general and organized crime in particular, this is a positive step.

In a joint operation between the Attorney General of Guanajuato and the Public Security Ministry, were arrested 10 suspected members of the criminal group Knights Templar.

Secretary of State for Public Security, Alvar Cabeza de Vaca, said the detainees were involved in several killings, kidnappings and extortion in the cities of León, Silao, Guanajuato, Irapuato and Salamanca.

During the joint exercise they stopped the gang leader, identified as Ricardo Espinoza Gonzalez Bogar and / or Oscar Fernandez Campos and / or Suástegui Mauricio Correa, nicknamed “El Nino” and / or “Baby”, 25 years old.

During an interview, the official said that four months after entering the current acting state public administration, it has been dismantling 12 organized crime groups.

During the exercise carried out on Saturday five assault rifles AR-15, two 5.56 rifles and five handguns nine millimeter caliber were seized, also used vehicles to carry out their crimes and for drug sales and four safe houses.

According to state prosecutors, these people are responsible for a series of extortions in the form of payment of dues or square, to the detriment of merchants and entrepreneurs from various fields, especially in the city of León.

In addition the activities related to the sale and distribution of drugs, participation is investigated several of them in the commission of multiple murders in Leon, Silao and Guanajuato.

In Mexico, the dispute over control of the territories being waged between eight drug cartels

operating throughout the country have consolidated their expansion projects and organized their cartels into a transnational presence and partnerships with local criminal groups from Canada to Brazil covering 16 countries in the Western hemisphere.

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Though the fight against drug trafficking undertaken by the Calderon government, in which 22 of the 37 most wanted leaders and operators have been detained-from March 2009 until today.

In recent years the eight Mexican cartels consolidated their internationalization presence. In a report by the PGR updated to August this year, reveals that Mexican transnational organizations have partnerships operating in 16 countries in the hemisphere .

The closest competitors of the organization “El Chapo “are Gulf cartel and” Zetas “(formerly antagonistic allies and today), operating in a total of nine nations, as documented by the Mexican federal government sharing intelligence with the authorities in these countries.

Both groups are in the United States, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Colombia and Bolivia, seeking to control territory. It has also documented the presence of “Los Zetas” in Honduras, Argentina and Brazil, while their rivals now Gulf cartel operating in Belize, Costa Rica and Peru.

The other criminal groups also have operations in some of these nations, but not at the same level. For example, the once powerful as the Arellano Felix cartel, is present only in the United States and Peru, while Juarez is on American soil, maintaining its alliances in Colombia, as well as Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, and has Argentina reached.

In this drug map, the recent criminal group “The Knights Templar“, which grew out of “The Family” in 2011, in just one year operates in the U.S., while the group from which emanated Michoacan has ramifications on U.S. soil, Colombia, Costa Rica and Guatemala.

Beltran Leyva, after separating from “El Chapo” hold its own network in the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia. Colombia remains, together with Bolivia and Peru, as the epicenter of the production of cocaine.

While Ecuador and Venezuela, see how the Mexican and Colombian cartels used as transit countries, with the consequences of violence on the rise, while Chile with Argentina-seen as a haven for the supply of precursor chemicals, are used as ports output to export the drug to Africa and Europe. Brazil is the largest consumer just Latin America, but also the largest supplier of chemical inputs to process cocaine.

Bruce Bagley, director of the Center for Latin American Studies, said that Mexican cartels are in control in the Andean region and the Northern market. “There is something very clear: instead of letting traded intermediary groups (drug), they (the Mexican narcos) are already hands in the dough.”

“We had no major problems capos here, and now, we speak here of cartels and mini-posters . The crops also appear in Zulia, Tachira, Apure. ” Hernan Matute , coordinator of the Drug Free Chair of the Institute of Caracas.”

This phenomenon of ‘paid assassins’ was not observed in Argentina, becomes a worrying situation that goes together with increased drug trafficking. ” Eduardo Amadeo , deputy national Peronist Front.

Investigations by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) show that organized crime groups and law firms create ghost companies to sell diesel fuel and gasoline to U.S. employers, in Central and South America, with revenues reaching over 500 million pesos a month.

According to the investigation PGR / SIEDO / UEIDCS / 539/2011, Raul Lucio Hernandez Lechuga The Z16 or The Lucky , a member of Los Zetas arrested in December 2011, admitted that the oil is obtained from underground pipeline footage Mexican Petroleum (Pemex) or through the theft of pipes.

The detainee told federal authorities that the transfer of diesel and gasoline is by sea or land to the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica to Colombia.

The Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA) places Tamaulipas, Veracruz and Sinaloa as entities where more fuel theft occurs.

Narcos milked Pemex and then come into Central America

PGR identified 21 ghost companies of Los Zetas and the Templars.

Trafficking in stolen oil has become a major source of financing of criminal organizations who not only their own businesses to appear legality in their operations, but they sell the product stolen from U.S. businessmen and Central America reveal investigations of the Attorney General’s Office (PGR).

Trafficking in stolen fuel, through the siphoning of diesel or gasoline through the pipelines of Petroleos Mexicanos, or theft of pipes, is one of the main sources of funding criminal organizations Los Zetas and the Knights Templars , who have created shell companies, and some established for presumed income may exceed 500 million pesos a month.

The fuel purchase is carried out by sea and land routes, as detailed in the investigation PGR/SIEDO/UEIDCS/539/2011.

That provides that a member of Los Zetas, Raul Lucio Hernandez Lechuga, the Z16 or the Lucky, after his arrest in December 2011, specified the forms of operation of the organization to commit the crime.

The ongoing theft of fuel is not only for resources, but to fill their vehicles.

According to preliminary investigations into the abduction of fuel and its commercialization, the PGR has identified at least 21 companies “ghost” who traded with the hydrocarbon.

Modus operandi

Regarding the theft of pipes or trucks with diesel or gasoline, the federal agency has received the complaint of 623 vehicles.

Through its investigations, the Attorney General is satisfied that the stolen fuel was smuggled by criminal organizations in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica, even Colombia.

Among the evidence with which the federal agency has found the seizures and operations made by the Secretary of the Navy during the operation at sea.

Such is the case of securing a vessel on July 11 in waters near Isla del Carmen, Mexico when the Navy seized the vessel, with 291,000 liters of diesel, traveling to Honduras.

Then, the federal agency said that “were found 291 000 971 liters of diesel fuel, excess amount that did not appear seated in the Journal of Navigation, stating receiving oil from other offshore vessels.”

In addition, in January this year made available Semar PGR 20 people including 11 Hondurans on a boat called Caribbean Clipper diesel moved without the lawful possession could prove fuel.

In total, the Navy of Mexico in January this year, said offshore of 648,000 liters of diesel, so they were sent to the Third District court 20 people arrested in Tabasco.

Regarding the organization Knights Templar, the PGR investigate complaints of entrepreneurs who are charged as extortion share the continued delivery of diesel and gasoline.

Only in 2011, the Secretary of Defense found 287 thousand clandestine outlets, located in Tamaulipas, Veracruz and Sinaloa states with higher incidence in this crime.

The Attorney General’s Office (PGR) has initiated more than two thousand preliminary investigations and recorded 325 people arrested in five years for the crime of theft of oil in the pipelines of Petroleos Mexicanos.

Pemex said it determined that from these inquiries it was identified that more than five thousand “milking points” were located throughout the country. In many cases, the subtraction is carried out with rudimentary accessory.

Meanwhile, Pemex said the theft of fuel from underground outlets up to November 2011 had increased by 52 percent more than last year, showing a financial loss of around six billion pesos.

The Attorney General’s Office said in response that the accurate information from 2007 to 2011, began two thousand 193 preliminary investigations, a growth of more than one thousand percent in 2007 to register for that year only 161 inquiries in contrast to 2011 to be 1163 preliminary investigations began.

The State Department praised the fight against drug cartels in Mexico reiterates its commitment to fight organized crime

The U.S. government condemned “energetically” the recent attacks against the company Sabritas, a subsidiary of U.S. multinational PepsiCo in Mexico, and reiterated its commitment to fight organized crime.

“The United States strongly condemns these attacks and all acts of criminal violence,” he said in a statement the State Department, which said the embassy of the American Union in Mexico City has been in contact with Mexican authorities and company representatives.

The federal agency was reacting to the attacks on 25 and 26 May last in five of the Sabritas distribution centers in the states of Michoacan and Guanajuato.

As of press time, in relation to the facts, are detained four people in Guanajuato.

The State Department praised the “courage” and “determination” of the president of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, the Mexican government and people face the “challenges and threats of transnational criminal organizations.”

“America will continue to help in Mexico’s efforts to disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations, in strict accordance with the law and respect for Mexican sovereignty,” said the note.

On Tuesday, the company Sabritas, which is still assessing the damage, denied having been extorted or threatened.

Meanwhile, the Army and Federal Police are investigating the possible involvement of the criminal group of Knights Templar, which maintains ties to drug gangs in South America and other states.

Complaints

In Michoacan, Sabritas representatives submitted to the State Attorney’s Office PGJE, complaints related to fire in the warehouses of Lazaro Cardenas, Apatzingan and Uruapan.

According to information from the PJGE, last Tuesday there were reports from the first incident in the port city, a couple of hours after the lawsuit was settled in the municipality located in the hot ground.

The report of the third assault reported in the city of Uruapan was filed during the early hours of yesterday, and officially started the preliminary investigation regarding the transnational conflagrations.

Meanwhile Hector Gomez Trujillo, state leader of the National Action Party, criticized the inaction of the authorities responsible for Michoacan law enforcement regarding the investigations.

“No single action taken by the Attorney General the attorney did not see him step up and get involved in the investigation, no arrests or research was done and is very clear what is happening,” said PAN.

Trujillo Gomez expected to have achieved results and to find those responsible for these criminal acts in Michoacan. “All these actions are the courts responsibility and the injuries and you have to read the state penal code and take action or make a report.”

The State Police protects Sabritas and the seven facilities in the state, while operating to deter crime is common. Federal Police and the army travel to the 113 municipalities in Michoacan.

Experts said the weekend attacks were the most violent and concerted crime against a private company in Mexico

MEXICO CITY, – Authorities arrested a lieutenant of a cartel of drug traffickers suspected of involvement in a series of arson attacks on facilities and vehicles in Sabritas, a Mexican company and subsidiary of PepsiCo chips.

In five separate attacks carried out between Friday and Saturday, on distribution centers and dozens of vehicles were torched in Sabritas in the states of Guanajuato and Michoacan.

Authorities in the central state of Guanajuato reported Monday that several suspects were arrested for the attacks, including an alleged cartel lieutenant of the Knights Templar.

Experts said the weekend attacks were the most violent and concerted crime against a private company in Mexico five years ago and media launched an armed offensive against drug cartels.

Mexican state oil company has suffered hundreds of thefts of fuel products, plus it has suffered the abduction of some of its employees.

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